Jimi Hendrix Encyclopedia

Did you see Jimi Hendrix in concert? Did you meet Jimi Hendrix or have the opportunity to interview him or have some other unique, first-person encounter with Jimi Hendrix? If so, Experience Hendrix wants to hear from you.

Popular Tags

Search Results

May 01, 1968

The Experience work at the Record Plant in New York City. During the session, the group creates the basic track for “House Burning Down” and complete the recordings of “Gypsy Eyes” with take 5 being marked as ‘complete.’ The group also revisit “Tax Free” with Hendrix playing his guitar through a Leslie speaker on two of the takes; the later being marked as ‘use.’

Recording for “Three Little Bears” would take place at the Record Plant, where Steve Winwood, Jack Casady and a host of others visited the group. Although Hendrix originally coined the title, “Cherokee Mist” for the session, he later settled on “Three Little Bears” as its final working title. Throughout the session, Jimi developed a jazzy rhythm pattern that would eventually become “South Saturn Delta.” As the session progressed, Hendrix and bassist, Noel Redding get into a heated argument about the number of people in the studio. In his autobiography, Are You Experienced? Redding says, “There were tons of people in the studio – you couldn’t even move. It was a party not a session. He just said, ‘Relax man…’ I’d been relaxing for months, so I relaxed my way right out the place, not caring if I ever saw him again.” Taking a break from the session Hendrix leads an entourage to their local hangout at the Scene Club for some fun. Afterwards, Hendrix, Mitch Mitchell, Eddie Kramer, Winwood, Casady, Larry Coryell and others, return to the Record Plant to jam. These jams would become the foundation of “Voodoo Chile.” A number of recordings with Winwood and Casady participating were laid to tape on this night, with 3 of the takes being fused together as “Voodoo Chile Blues,” which was released on MCA’s 1994 release – :Blues.

Experience publicist, Michael Goldstein arranged for ABC-TV to record the group’s studio work today for a proposed news feature. Although the 16mm film recordings captured the Experience recording “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” at the Record Plant, no records indicate if the footage was ever used. Unfortunately, this footage, along with the recordings for the Experience’s May 10 show at Fillmore East and May 18 show at the Miami Pop Festival were all stolen from the ABC-TV archives sometime after Hendrix’s death in 1970. Jimi Hendrix and Mitch Mitchell are invited to jam with Joe Tex and his band at the Town Hall in New York City.

Larry Coryell (playing 12-string guitar) joins Noel Redding, at this early morning session at the Record Plant for the recording of his self-penned number, “Little, Little Girl.” A rough mix of the recording was also produced during the session. Later, Hendrix and Kramer prepare rough mixes of “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “House Burning Down.”

Returning once again to the Record Plant, the Experience prepare a rough mix of “House Burning Down” but later mark it ‘Don’t Use’ and discard it. Overdubs, including Jimi’s lead guitar part for Redding’s “Little Miss Strange” are completed, as is the final mix of the track.

The Experience complete rough mixes for “Three Little Bears,” “Voodoo Chile,” and “Long Hot Summer Night” during sessions at the Record Plant. Jimi also returned to the April 22 recordings of “1983 (A Merman I Should Turn To Be)” by adding a series of new recordings that were later added as edit sections to create a single, unified master. With Hendrix taking the music in his own direction, Chas Chandler stepped down as the producer for the Electric Ladyland project. “Both I and the group were exhausted,” explained Chandler in an interview with John McDermott for the book Jimi Hendrix Sessions. “I had spent three years with the Animals, and the next day I was working with Hendrix. I had put in as much time on the job as Hendrix, Mitchell, and Redding – plus my time with the Animals. The last thing I wanted to be doing was fighting with Jimi in the studio and then (Michael) Jeffrey in the office. I just walked away.” In a separate session, also at the Record Plant, Noel Redding worked recorded “How Can I Live” with engineer Gary Kellgren.

The Experience perform two shows at the Fillmore East in New York City, with support from Sly & the Family Stone and the Joshua Light Show. One of the sets, lasting 50 minutes includes performances of “Lover Man,” “Fire,” “Foxey Lady,” “Red House,” “Hey Joe,” “Sunshine Of Your Love,” “Hear My Train A Comin’,” Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window,” “Purple Haze,” and “Wild Thing.”

Supported by the Mothers of Invention, Arthur Brown, Blue Cheer and John Lee Hooker, The Experience perform two shows at the Miami Pop Festival in Hallendale, Florida. Among the songs performed during the second show include “Foxey Lady,” “Fire,” “Hear My Train A Comin’,” and “Purple Haze.” Eddie Kramer was flown down to Miami to record the group’s performance for posterity. Although recordings were made, the second day’s cancellation threw the promoters into bankruptcy. Both audio and film footage (ABC-TV) of the event was seized, their whereabouts remain a mystery.

A second day of performances at the Miami Pop Festival is cancelled due to a torrential thunderstorm. During the drive back to the hotel from Gulf Stream Park, Jimi begins to write “Rain Day, Dream Away.”

Hendrix reportedly jams with Noel Redding, Frank Zappa, Arthur Brown, Steve Paul and Jimmy Carl Black at the Wreck Bar in the Castaways Hotel in Miami, Florida during the early morning hours. Redding boards a plane to return to London later that day.

Hendrix arrives at the Malpensa Airport in Milan, Italy after flying from Miami, Florida (by-way of New York). Daniela Cohen of Ciao 2001 photographs Jimi and Noel sitting on the grass outside the Windsor Hotel. Although scheduled to perform two shows at the Piper Club in Milan, the first show is cancelled because Italian customs officials delay the Experience’s gear at the airport. The second show proceeds with a more than two thousand people trying to gain admission to the show.

The Experience are interviewed and photographed by Swiss reporter, Winnie Land and her husband at the Fleming Hotel. The interview is printed in the May 30, 1968 edition of Blick. Two additional performances are given at Teatro Brancaccio with the same supporting acts as the previous night. Afterwards, the Experience head to the Titan Club.

Performing two shows at the Palasport in Bolgna, Italy the Experience are supported by the Cliffters, Ivan and the Meteors, and Keith Anderson & Wood Groups among others. Their first set, lasting roughly 45 minutes included “Fire,” “Hey Joe,” “Stone Free,” “Red House,” a medley of “Tax Free” & “Come On (Part One)”, “Purple Haze,” and “Foxey Lady.”

The Experience travel from Bologna to London, making stops in both Milan and Geneva before arriving at their final destination. Once at Heathrow, Hendrix is quickly whisked away for a return flight back to New York City.

Mitchell and Redding are joined by nearly forty British musicians, including the Move, Traffic, John Mayall, and Eric Burdon on a charter flight from Heathrow to Kloten airport in Zurich, Switzerland. Upon arrival the bands take part in an afternoon press reception. Hendrix arrives later in the afternoon, after flying to Zurich from New York. This grand event, dubbed Pop-Montserkonzert was to feature two successive nights of performances at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland. Each night kicked off with a fashion show by local boutique, Bernie’s. Once the fashions were put aside, a series of bands – one after the other – took to the stage, including: Anselmo Trend, Sauterelles, Hardy Hepp, the Koobas, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Traffic, the Move, Eric Burdon and the New Animals, and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The Experience’s 50+ minute set included: “Voodoo Child (Slight Return),” “Stone Free,” “I Don’t Live Today,” “Red House,” “Hey Joe,” “Foxey Lady,” “Manic Depression,” “Fire,” and “Purple Haze.”

Hendrix jams with members of Traffic, including Dave Mason, Chris Wood, Steve Winwood, Trevor Burton, Carl Wayne and Vic Briggs at Hallenstadion. Chris Wood records the jam on his portable tape recorder. The second night of performances for the Pop-Montserkonzert take place at Hallenstadion. Afterwards, Keith Altham interviews Hendrix for the June 8 edition of New Musical Express.